Hidden Minerals
by Evil-Potato-Squad
Summary: Seems that every nation wants nothing but cities. But what about the small towns? The very towns which provide one of the basic human necessities: Food? Farming towns are always hidden from view and are run by locals who know nothing but their town. What if two city people decide to run in the place? What happens to everyone? Based on the Events in the game...with a modern flavor!


**Chapter 1 – So It Begins…**

**Hi everyone! This is the first time writing here on Fanfiction! Based on events of Harvest Moon: (More) Friends of Mineral Town! Love the game, the characters and scenes, so I wanna let my mind escape here. Apologies for inconsistencies and whatnot, but I'll be sure to fix them as soon as I see them! Enjoy!**

**I do not own Harvest Moon.**

**Harvest moon and all Characters belong to Marvelous Interactive & Natsume**

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Days…Months…Years…time went on. Seasons passed by. The clock did its clockwise rounds, ticking for every lost second, turning its two arms around every now and then. His blue eyes stare at the clock, lying on his bed, his room a slight mess, but still decent enough to even look at.

"Damn…" He muttered, scratching his head filled with messy brown hair that pointed at different directions. He was dressed in his casuals: Just a White shirt and dark blue jogging pants that were too long, covering half of his feet.

"_Remember to write back kiddo!" _

Those words seem to pass by his head but remain in his memory. It had been 10 years since he had changed. At twenty-five, he had been restlessly looking for a job that suited him for 2 years since he graduated. Jack Springfield was his name. He was known to his friends and family as a quiet but really hard working chap, and was always there if you needed help, or was there just to hang out. He was both; serious with work and cheerful with fun times. He was well respected and well loved.

"Where is he…? Goddamnit…" He sat up, impatient. He'd remember clearly the last time an old friend sent him anything. The very old friend who inspired him to be an extremely hard working person. When he was young, he was hard headed, lazy, stupid…just plain trouble for his parents. But that all changed when he got lost in some sort of farm. Of course he was a kid then, but he was different. He'd often find himself in some sort of crap that had to be fixed by his old timers, AKA his parents. He stood up and walked over to his working desk from when he'd be studying, whilst writing up a letter headed for a little town that was barely known to the world. Each one of the letters he received were alike, apart from the messages within them.

"_Don't forget to come back! You're always welcome here!"_

He sat down, fidgeting, looking at the clock every now and then. He thought and thought and thought for what seems an entire lifetime, that is until his mother, pretty with her jet black hair, still looking young barged in.

"Jack, please come down and eat!" She chirped, only to receive a heavy sigh for a reply from her son. She bent a bit, being slightly tall, tapping her son's shoulders. "Jack, what's wrong? Honey, I know finding a job is really, really hard and stressful, but don't let that ruin your appetite!" Jack looked at his mother with concerned eyes.

"Mom, remember that old guy back at…"

"Is it Mineral Town?" She interrupted with a smile, which received a happy nod from her son. "Of course I remember. Old man Pete…that man…just like my father: so inspiring. What's wrong? You want to go and visit him?" Jack shrugged, staring at a pen and some letters sitting on a special tray on his desk.

"That's the problem…" Jack stood up and paced around the room, looking out of his window, staring at the big city in the background, as he and his neighbors lived in a subdivision a few miles from the nearest City Mall.

"Look, your father and I don't have any stipulations for you leaving somewhere, Jesus, you're 25! Go if you feel like it! You don't need to ask us." He rolled his eyes to his mother, who, whenever she was speaking to him, always had to speak in a way that made him feel childish.

"No ma…It's…Pete hasn't been replying to me for...weeks. I'm worried ma; I haven't been this worried since Grandpa got sick, or the time I didn't know what to do on Prom night… What if Ol' Pete got sick or…or…worse…" He was stopped when his mother quickly brushed his chin.

"Oh dear…don't speak in such a manner." Silence filled the room, until Jack quickly grabbed a few bags, startling his mom. "So…you're planning to leave?" Jack nodded his head, forcing a weak smile.

"I'll see what's up. Don't worry, I know where to go. I'll give you a text or a call if anything comes up." He slapped a few clothes in, cramming a few books and what not inside his bag, as well has the charger for his cell phone.

"Don't forget that, Jack. And for god's sake, please don't do anything stupid." He quickly got dressed in jeans and a more respectable shirt, smiling at his mother.

"It's been a while since I did anything stupid." The two exchanged whole-hearted chuckles as his mother gave him a gentle old-woman's hug. With that, he kissed his mother's forehead, and patted his father, who was outside watering what plants they had in their little garden. He took one good look at his father and the activity he was doing…just feeling a large amount of happiness, before walking on towards the train station inbound for the countryside which was roughly 20 miles away, since the city was an infrastructure kingdom. He boarded the bus and arrived at the station, which was not too crowded since it was a Saturday morning. He smiled at the ray of light that seeped over the slightly clouded sky.

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A type of kingdom that defiantly was an industrial funhouse in a nutshell. In simpler terms, people saw these kinds of cities as places to work in, earn a living, and hopefully live a good life till death squeezed them. Others despised the city, hating the intoxicating polluted air, suspicious of the shifty shadowy people leaning so casually on walls, before performing a bank heist, or even the gruesome sounds of murder somewhere in the intertwined roads of the commerce. One of those who just hated this city life was a 23 year old Claire Browning. Every afternoon, she'd kick the door of her apartment suite open in frustration, hating her life, and the fact she just lost the 3rd job in a row. She lived by herself, far from her family, which she regretted in so many ways it was ridiculous. She was known to e a grumpy girl, sometimes even scaring her older apartment neighbors when she had fits. She wasn't like this before though. She had been known to her parents as a cheerful and intelligent little girl, before she left to work in the city. Guess the city turned her down and cause her to go mentally insane with herself.

"**Fuck this! Fuck this city! Fuck the people! Fuck me!**"

"Hey, shut up!" A tenant next door screamed back to her, which caused her to throw an object at the wall where her next door was at. She roared loud enough to let her emotions be known, but not enough to start a riot. She threw a few things around, before collapsing on her bed, face down, her sweaty red shirt cooling her down somewhat, while her heavy jeans did the opposite. Her blonde hair in messy partitions as she banged her head lightly on the pillow. Feeling she'd had enough, she opened her half empty fridge and grabbed the last carton of milk, drinking it straight, sighing in relief after tasting the dairy good. She sat down and turned on the news on her almost colorless TV, flashing on different channels. "News…nothin' new… more corruption…Cartoons…..too far from reality…eww game shows…just…no…wait…what's this…?" As she flicked on one channel, she suddenly stopped at an ancient documentary about some farmers showing their routines, she stared at these men, in charge of making produce that she otherwise wouldn't be eating if they didn't exist. Though she seemed like a hardcore rebel, she had always admired those who worked themselves to death. She admired their love for their work, not the rewards. They seemed to be simple and thus lived simple but charming and happy lives. She always admired the countryside. For one, the air was so clean you'd e able to taste freshly cut grass. Claire was a grave animal lover. Though she ate meat at times, she wouldn't turn down a plate of butter steamed vegetables or a refreshing bowl of assorted fruits. She'd slap down an expensive steak for a cheap plate of salad.

She turned it off and dismissed it, preparing dinner as she wanted to sleep early. She had loved her microwave: did almost essentially all of her cooking for her. As the microwave heated up her TV dinner, she decided to check the mailbox that was attached next to her door outside. She pulled out a newspaper, free for the apartment she rented. Unrolling the paper, she went on reading it, while she chugged down on the remaining milk. She almost gagged when she saw something that was different for her.

"_Farm for Sale! No special requirements needed!_

_We have a beautiful farm that needs your attention!_

_Clean, spaced and absolutely heart-pacing! Come over!"_

"This is fucking perfect…!" She gasped, wiping the drink from her lips, as she smiled so wide, she hadn't remembered when she ever did this. She looked down looking for a contact number, which she succeeded in. Hastily, she grabbed her cell phone, knowing calling from the actual phone in the apartment would cost her a tail, and punched in the number from the paper.

"Hello…?" She immediately talked when the dial tone disappeared, implying the other line picked up.

"Hello?" The other line had a cheery but goofy sort of voice. You'd expect him to laugh like a fool till the sheep came home. But also, it sounded as if the man was sort of a higher ranked persona, judging by his low tone. Overall, he sounded like a hearty man.

"Excuse me…is this…uhh…" She looked down for a specific name in charge of the job offer, printed in some weird font she'd never heard of. "Mister Thomas McArthur?"

"Yes yes! Are you interested in the farm-"

"Interested? I'm taking the offer right away. What do I need?" She interrupted without any mercy on the other line, not being able to hold in her contained excitement. She wanted to leave this place. And she didn't want to waste this opportunity with any more given time.

"Well…for starters…you don't need much. If you're planning to stay in our town where the farm is, please come on over with your belongings! Tools you'd need would be here at the farm, so no need for anything." This gave Claire some bitter-sweet relief, she'd kill the man on the other line if she needed to buy her own equipment, and she trusted herself to not trust what's being sold in the city.

"When can I start?" Claire gasped again, gripping her device, excited, not knowing if she could even destroy the thing with her grip.

"Whenever you feel like it! Just tell me before you come here."

"I'll start tomorrow. Roughly…10 in the morning?"

"That's a good time, I'll make sure you come here safe. It's a small town. Directions are in the advertisement." Claire traced her fingers along the rustled fragile paper, stopping and tapping on the address given, nodding in acknowledgement to it.

"Alright, thank you so much. I'll be over tomorrow. The name's Claire M. Browning."

"Take care now Miss Claire. We'll be looking forward to seeing you!" With that, the two agreed to their statements. Claire quickly ripped off her heavy jeans and wore some skimpy yellow shorts with dotted red pixels all over, as she threw a bag on her bed, stacking clothes and whatever she had left, including a few pieces of paper money and a bag of change. With that, she lied down, a smile creeping on her smooth but tired face, her blue eyes staring at the ceiling as she drifted off to her dreams, leaving her dinner to be stuck in the microwave.

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**Well, this is all I have for now! I hope you enjoyed this introductory chapter, and I hope to please you with future chapters! Please give me a good critique, and I'll reward ya'll with a better chapter! I may get busy with school work, so advanced apologies. Anyways, take care!**


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